We recently connected with Derrick Emanuel and have shared our conversation below.

Derrick, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

If I could go back I wish I would have went all in full-time with my businesses and not been afraid of the unknown. I have been an educator for over 14 years and though I gained a lot of professional skills and tools in that sector there has always been a deeper desire in me for ownership and freedom to control my own narrative. I started my business in 2011 in the commercial cleaning industry and that was my introduction to being an independent business owner. This was a part time business that I did in the evenings and on weekends. I was taught the business dating back to 2003 from a family member who I consider to be a mentor in my life. During the start of my business I was a high school educator. and it was very tough managing a business while working full-time. Furthermore, growing a business has not always been easy, but very rewarding. I ‘ve learned just how important customer service, timeliness, communication, payroll, and building relationships really are. One of my biggest goals is to pass a legacy of hard work, ownership, and going after your dreams to my children. As mentioned above I wholeheartedly would have started sooner right out of high school learning the skills of business because experience has been my best teacher along the way.

Derrick, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised in Bennettsville, South Carolina, but has called Houston, Texas my home since 2014. I earned a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from Greensboro College and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University-Portland. I joined the Houston Independent School District in 2014 with over 10 years of experience in the world of education. My extensive experience educating and mentoring students in North Carolina and Texas has resulted in many students choosing paths of higher learning at colleges and trade schools across the country. I’m the CEO of The Eman Investment Group, LLC and Eman Transportation & Logistics. These two companies are my pride and joy. Our investment group focuses on our commercial cleaning where as to our logistics business focuses on transporting good across the state of Texas. I owe much of my love for business, mentorship, and personal development to my mentors over the years. The men that poured into my life helped me to see the beauty of how passing on good habits and discipline will help give a person direction in life. I continued this pathway by mentoring other young men and women years later resulting in me becoming an author of my first book entitled “The Value of A Mentor”. I’m very proud of the work I created because the book provides the reader insight on how mentorship can be life changing for them if taken serious.

As mentioned, mentorship has translated to my businesses because every business I taken on I’ve consulted coaches or mentors before proceeding. Our commercial cleaning business focuses on servicing clients meeting their sanitation needs for their business. We take pride in this service because cleanliness is a major component of customer retention and what they see when entering into an establishment. In addition to our cleaning business we recently started a cargo van service where we serve as independent contractors servicing businesses by delivering good from one business to another. Again, I thoroughly enjoy what we do because it allows us to serve people.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I had to unlearn small and negative thinking. Growing up I did not have legitimate business owners in my family resulting in me not seeing what it really took to have a registered profitable business. Furthermore, while in college I began to seek understanding what business was really about and it took me on path of meeting business owners who were flourishing in their businesses, but also had failed at some point along the way. While on my quest of learning about business I would get comments from family, colleagues, and associates stating the common phrase “most businesses fail in the first five years”. This common phrase along with other negative ideas caused me to really find my a level of focus that I never had before if I was going to pursue this journey of business. I stuck to my will and determination and I have not looked back since. I will admit I’ve taken some losses along the way, but my objective was to not form mindset of negative thinking.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My most effective strategies for growing my clientele has been doing weekly check-ins and providing periodic gifts of appreciation to my customers. These two methods alone has granted me access to great relationships and extended contracts. Ultimately, what I’ve learned over the years is that people will go to the ends of the earth for you if you treat them with kindness.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.emaninvestmentgroup.com
• Instagram: Currently hacked/Derrickeman19
• Facebook: Derrick Emanuel
• Linkedin: Derrick Emanuel
• Twitter: DerrickEmanuel2